Despite feeling tired, on arrival, instantly surrounded by the expected heat of Africa, we managed to find all of our bags successfully and headed outside to find our ride to the secondary school.

We were greeted by a crowd of smartly dressed grinning Minaki students who hurried over to help us with our bags - excitedly introducing themselves one by one. After a chatty ride to Minaki, we were assigned one of the boys as our partner for the week who helpfully carried our bags to our hosts who were readily waiting for us at their homes.

We had time to settle down and meet our host family but also managed to squeeze in a tour of Minaki, a second breakfast, shortly followed by lunch and an afternoon trip to the orphanage. As we bundled onto the pickup truck, any senses of tiredness or apprehension had quickly vanished and were replaced by complete excitement.

The afternoon was spent at the orphanage playing games with the children which was such a lovely way to begin building our relationships with not only the Minkai students but also with the orphans that we would be visiting twice more that week. We were so overwhelmed by the welcome and appreciation we received just by visiting the children and we hadn’t yet given them the clothes and toys we had collected. This was the first day of a trip full of adventure and new experiences.

As you can imagine a hike to a bat cave may not have been everyone’s cup of tea...however, it was without a doubt an experience that not many of us would have imagined ever enduring. Despite getting lost on the way, the cave proved to be as impressive as Mr Ford had made out! Literally inches away from your head, hundreds of bats darted past in the pitch black and it wasn’t until flashes from cameras illuminated the cave that we were aware of how many bats, and cockroaches, there actually were! Although smelly, it was an incredible experience finished off by a well-earned soda at a local bar.

On the Tuesday we enjoyed a full day at the orphanage where we spent time playing with balloons, bubbles and teaching and learning songs from both cultures. The highlight, I'm sure, for everyone was the crowd of children running down from the orphanage house with their arms spread wide and smiles even wider, ready to welcome us back from our lunch. As they jumped into our arms there was a moment when we all realised just how important our visit was to these children, but also how enlightening it was going to be for us.

On Wednesday we visited Bagamoyo where we saw some historical sites, went for a quick dip in the Indian Ocean followed by a visit to a shopping mall. Overall, it was a very interesting day and we learnt so much about the culture of Tanzania. We had many opportunities to bond with all the Minaki boys. The three-hour journey back to the school was passed by a very loud singing session. We learnt Kiswahili songs and we taught them traditional and well known songs. It was such a simple form of entertainment but so memorable!

After such an interesting and busy day we enjoyed a quiet morning of lessons followed by a calm afternoon at the orphanage. Again we continued to build on the friendships that we had created with the children and the boys. The goodbye proved to be difficult for us as we had had such an inspirational time with the children. Saying our farewells was quite emotional. However, we were able to pay for their water tank to be filled with a few weeks’ worth of water, as well as a supply of beans and rice (which is their stable diet). Although to us it seemed like such a simple gesture, to the orphanage it meant a few weeks of guaranteed meals.

The Friday involved teaching a lesson at a local primary school. We had all planned a lesson which involved pictures, songs and games. The Minaki boys translated for us...and some of us attempted some Kiswahili!! The afternoon was free to do whatever we wanted, so we played card games, basketball and just generally enjoyed spending time with the group.

The next day we transferred to Mikumi National Park. We were sad to leave the boys but so excited to go on safari! It was a five-hour journey to the park, however, we stopped for two hours as one of the jeeps had broken down. Fortunately, we arrived just in time for the dusk game drive.

Over the next few days we went on several drives and were amazed at how close we came to the animals, encountering a pack of lions, giraffes crossing in front of our jeep and a herd of elephants drinking from a water hole. The quality of the safari was superb and the accommodation was top notch! Huge tents on stilts with two sinks, a shower AND a flushing toilet (felt like luxury after the difficult bathroom facilities we had experienced the previous week).

It was lovely to relax by the pool and enjoy the amazing scenery, but one of the most memorable experiences was visiting the waterfall! We walked up a rather large hill which led to the bottom of a giant waterfall. The pool was refreshingly cold and some of us braved the water while others sat on the big rocks and absorbed the beautiful surroundings. A very long journey back towards Dar Es Salaam left us all feeling very tired and a few were quite unwell. Thankfully, this seemed to be the only off-day the group suffered, but the next day everyone was bright and cheery and back to normal.

We spent two relaxing days at Kipepeo Beach Resort and on the second day we took a wooden dhow out to a nearby island where we snorkelled and explored the historic ruins. We were fortunate enough to spot a pod of dolphins so we all bundled onto the boat and sailed out to get a closer look. This spontaneous sighting was so exciting it made the day even more adventurous! After a game of volley ball and a nice restaurant dinner we headed back to our huts to sleep on the beach for the last time.